Resilience!

An article in November Coaching at Work magazine considered the current and future trends for coaching and commented that people are experiencing more pressure in the workplace as a result of cost cutting and restructuring, which was particularly so in the public sector.  The resulting pressure can either push people to produce amazingly high performance or it can push them to the edge, destroying performance.

I was also struck by a blog by Nick Robinson of the BBC, who said that "we all thought the Spending Review was the toughest set of decisions ever to face a modern Prime Minister.  Perhaps.  But it also blocked out the day-to-day realities of power when things beyond your control and over which you do not take decisions go wrong.. and then go wrong again.. and then again..."

Both of these made me think of a theme that I have noticed being talked about increasingly by communities on Linkedin and Twitter of Mental Toughness and Resilience.  Resilience is a characteristic I am very familiar with being an accredited practitioner of Emotional Intelligence.

The 'Resilience Factor' by Karen Reivich and Andrew Shatte talks about resilience:

everyone needs resilience, because one thing is certain, life includes adversities.  There are inevitable daily hassles - work dumped on your desk at 4.45pm, children who need to be in the same place at the same time, disagreements with others.  There are probably major setbacks too - a lost job, a failed relationship, and recent events have shown that our lives may also be touched by great trauma.  But if you increase your resilience you can overcome most of what life puts your way.

How resilient are you? Most of us would consider ourselves to be fairly resilient, but most of us are not emotionally or psychologically prepared to handle adversity, which means that instead of facing up to our problems bravely and with confidence, we risk giving up and feeling helpless.

So in the language of emotional intelligence we talk about 'Self Management', which can be described as the emotional competency to manage our energy and emotions in a restraining or energising way:

• Restraining behaviours:
• keeping disruptive emotions and impulses in check
• maintaining integrity and acting congruently with our values
• flexibility in handling change

• Energising behaviours:
• striving to improve or meet a standard of excellence
• readiness to act on opportunities
• resilience in coping with setbacks and pursuing goals despite obstacles and setbacks.

So in these current times, I wonder if we might all benefit from exploring our ability to deal with adversity, set backs, and be more prepared and able to keep picking ourselves  and others up despite set backs and the difficulties of handling change.

If you would like to comment or would like to know more about Emotional Intelligence then do please get in touch!

People don't leave companies they leave bosses!

That was the profound statement made at a conference I attended this week in London and one that has stuck in my mind all week.

The statement was made by Patrick Lencioni, author of best-selling books including 'The Five Dysfunctions of a Team'.  There have been numerous studies in the UK that highlight the dissatisfaction that people feel with their bosses and in my coaching sessions it is often something we will focus on.  People are quick to identify with bad bosses rather than good ones!

At the conference Lencioni offered a great model to overcome people leaving through job misery, which is further explained in his book 'The Three Signs of a Miserable Job'.  He describes the three components as:

Anonymity: employees who are not known and individually appreciated by their managers will not be fulfilled in their jobs.

Irrelevance: employees who don't know how their work impacts the lives of others will not be fulfilled in their jobs.

Immeasurement: employees who cannot assess their own level of performance and success will not be fulfilled in their jobs.

So, I put this to you, are you doing your best to ensure that your teams and direct reports don't have 'miserable jobs'?  In a recent discussion with a client, they said how they feared an exodus of talent from their organisation when the economy picks up.  Make sure that doesn't happen to you! 

Should CEOs have a coach to help them reach peak performance?

This was the title of a recent discussion on Linkedin which was fascinating in the reactions and conclusions provoked.


The discussion was part of an Institute of Directors (IoD) group on Linkedin and the contributors included company CEOs, Directors as well as a range of Coaches, Mentors and Consultants.


What emerged from the discussion was:

• some cynicism regarding the need for coaching and advice for CEOs.
• a passionate defence from Coaches, Mentors and Consultants for their profession and clear 'sparring' about the differences between the methods used.
• some 'sniffyness' (on reflection, me included) about the coaching profession and people too easily entering the profession and calling themselves Coaches.
• challenge back to the CEOs that they were dismissing the need for continual learning.
• a clear confusion about what coaching is and how to make the right choices when selecting of a Coach.

As the discussion came to a natural end, there appeared to be a convergence.  Some of those who started out as cynics ended up with a greater understanding of what coaching and mentoring might offer them.  We as a coaching profession realised that we need to do a better job of helping people to buy our services.

So here are my thoughts on buying coaching:

• ask what training they have undergone and where.  Ensure it is of a good quality and from a reputable provider.
• ask which professional bodies they are a member of and what code of ethics they subscribe to.  The lead organisations are Association for Coaching (AC), European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC), International Coach Federation (ICF)
• if they use psychometric testing, are they 'Level B' accredited by the British Psychological Society to use them and which ones are valid for your needs.
• what Supervision do they receive?  All good coaches should have a Supervisor who helps them to reflect on their approach and improve their practise.
• how they propose to 'contract' with you - in other words, what are the 'rules of engagement'.
• what are they doing for their own professional development?How many days a year are they investing in their own training and development?
• insist you have a 'chemistry' session and decide whether you think you can work with them!

I would be interested in your thoughts and experiences on buying coaching services.